How He died

"When the centurion heard His cry and saw how He died, he said "surely this man, was the son of God."

It was one man's conclusion, not thousands. Most everyone else jeered. They taunted, and in their pride, tried to appeal to Christ's pride, as he slowly died on the cross. It was the devil's last temptation. A last desperate attempt to preserve his victory. It was the final hour of Christ's life on earth, all eyes were on Him. Some were spiteful, some sorrowful. Others, from a distance, were full of guilt and shame. Everybody was watching, anticipating the next moments.

He hung. Two words. 6 hours past.... and He hung. The people jeered and He hung. In the face of humiliation, pain, death and every low point of human life, He hung. There was no fanfare. No exultation. There was no praise for the God-man. Only rage, prideful arrogance and ignorance were directed His way. The greatest gift ever giving to man was rejected, tortured and cast-out, like an unwanted garment or possession.

There is so much significance in the words of that centurion. Unlike the people of Israel, the gospel had not yet been revealed to them. Unlike the people of Israel, they had not walked with Jesus for 3 years waiting on His every word, His every miracle. There wasn't the same intimate experience with Christ, and this makes the centurion's words that much more significant. They were spoken from one 24 hour period. In that time, Jesus was scourged, beaten, mocked, humiliated, beaten some more, forced to carry His cross, and eventually crucified like a common criminal. We've heard those words, but this scenario, this encounter with God experienced by a man with no previous revelation of Christ shakes my foundation of evangelism to the core. "As a lamb before the sheerers is silent, so He did not open His mouth". Jesus didn't preach an eloquent sermon ala Stephen in the book of Acts, He died.... He hung and He died.

The power was in the pre-requisite of this moment. The evangelism and annointing were brought to fruit by the perserverance of Christ. We perservere because we know that in that perserverance there is fullness of life, Christ perservered for us. We perservere to experience perfection, He perservered to restore it. And while we perservere in pursuit of a life abundant, Christ perservered to take the punishment I deserved upon Himself. He perservered in complete humility, breaking Himself, pouring Himself out and being lifted up, in order to save my wretched soul amongst the scoffers. I read what I just wrote and it hits me "Surely this man was the son of God."